The present application relates to electronic board games and more particularly to games normally played between two competitors which permits solitary play with the game system substituting for the second competitor.
One area of attraction associated with data processing apparatus has always been the ability to have the computer play games against human competitors. Advances in data processing technology continue to make this area of computer use more available to those persons who do not have access to or are not trained to operate sophisticated equipment. The popularity of many video games is merely illustrative of the intense interest in this area.
One game which has always intrigued those involved with computers is the game of chess. The variations and permutations involved in the game of chess are sufficiently great and have limited the use of computers for chess playing to relatively large scale high-powered devices. However, the recent advances in the microprocessor capability have resulted in techniques in which it is mathematically possible to have an electronic opponent play an interesting game of chess for at least non-expert human opponents.
For example, programs for playing chess have been developed for implementation on programmable calculators such as the Hewlett-Packard 9810A. Such programs are available from that company and are described, for example, in an article by Alan A. Wray entitled "A Chess Playing Program For The 9810A" published by that company. Other interesting publications on computer chess playing include a book by David Levy entitled "Chess and Computers", Computer Science Press, 1976; a paper entitled "The Greenblatt Chess Program", by R. D. Greenblatt, D. E. Eastlake, III and S. D. Crocker in Proceedings, Fall Joint Computer Conference, 1967; and "Chess-Playing Programs and the Problem of Complexity", by A. Newall, J. C. Shaw and H. A. Singer, at pages 39-70 of Computers and Thought, McGraw Hill, 1963.
These and probably other articles describe some of the basic techniques utilized by computers in evaluating chess moves in order to play a basis competent game against a non-expert human opponent.
However, in order to implement such a chess game, it is not just sufficient to have a technique for the computer to evaluate the possible chess moves it might make. It is also necessary to produce a device capable of being operated by a person who understands the game, but not necessarily computers, and which provides the necessary input and output responses to permit the game to be played, as well as features and capabilities to make the device attractive and practical. Such features should be incorporated and available while retaining simplicity of operation and maintaining reasonable cost limitations.